


Date Night

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 13:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17829323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Takes place after Valentine's Disaster. Daine comes home and all he wants to do is relax with his fiance. Daine belongs to HellishSam.





	Date Night

It was a soaking wet Daine and Wisp that returned to South Hoof. Daine hadn't even mounted Wisp again on the ferry, instead standing next to his largest horse with his hand resting gently on the horse's withers. Steam had risen from both of them, but mostly from Daine. It still rose now, as he walked up to his front door. His shoes squelched from the water in them, and he knew that he needed to take care of Wisp and rub him down with some hay to dry him off and give him a good grooming, but the idea of doing anything that involved energy made Daine feel like falling asleep. Which was exactly what he intended to do now, as soon as he peeled off his wet clothes.

The front door opened even before Daine's fingers had touched the doorknob. And for once, he didn't feel annoyed at his fiance helping him out. Even if he was a little surprised- he'd thought that Ydris was going to be busy all day on the highland, setting up for their Valentine's Day date. Daine's necklace, the purple crystal that Ydris had lovingly gifted him on his birthday, felt warm against his chest. The mark below it from the red shell still stung a little, though, and he hoped it wouldn't leave a bruise.

"Mon phenix?" Ydris asked as Daine walked into the living room. Daine flopped down on the couch beside his fiance, his clothes being dried automatically thanks to a spell by his fiance.

"I don't wanna talk about it," said Daine, closing his eyes and resting his head against the back of the couch. Ydris laced his fingers with his fiance's, Daine smiling at the gentle touch.

"Was it anything bad?" Ydris asked.

"Not that bad," said Daine. "I'm just tired, that's all. I'll be fine after I sleep for a bit." It was honestly mostly from the adrenaline fading away, not from anything that Astor had done. It had been fun, but now, he was tired. Bone-weary, almost. Not the ideal state to be in on Valentine's Day.

"No," said Ydris, kissing Daine's cheek. "You need pampering."

"No, you were setting up a nice date, you should get back to that," said Daine. "I'll be ready for it after I take a nap."

"I am not having you be miserable on Valentine's Day, Daniel," said Ydris. Daine opened his sunset-coloured eyes, looking at his fiance. The love in Ydris' eyes made his heart thump, his eyes fill with tears.

"Fine," said Daine, closing his eyes again. "What did you have in mind?"

"Wait right here, I will fetch those classical movies and horse movies that you love," said Ydris, leaning in to give Daine a kiss on the lips before he rose to his feet and walked over to the bookshelf that held nothing but DVDs and blurays. There was the odd large spellbook shoved on there too, Ydris' touch, but it was the DVDs that Ydris went to today.

While Ydris was gone, Daine curled up on the couch, resting his head on the armrest and feeling himself slipping into sleep. Maybe he should have stayed in bed that morning, but it had been at least a little fun.

Daine half-woke to a few DVDs spread out in front of him, almost like cards.

"Pick one," said Ydris.. Daine groaned into the armrest, reaching a hand out and touching a DVD case at random. "Ah, Black Beauty, good choice."

"Oh yeah, Wisp needs drying off and put away," said Daine. "Roo got annoyed at us interrupting her sunbathing."

"Is she the reason for your current state?" Ydris asked.

"No," said Daine, shaking his head. "Just- look into my mind if you wanna know what happened." For once, he didn't mind Ydris peeking into his mind. Some would think that it was an invasion of privacy, but Daine saw it as something intimate. When it was wanted, anyway.

While Ydris left the house to take care of Wisp, carefully washing the saltwater from him and the mud from his fetlocks and hooves before rubbing him dry and putting him away with a warm mash and some fresh water, he looked into Daine's mind, bracing for what he might see. But, as Daine had said, it wasn't that bad- just flashes of Daine playing Mario Kart with Astor and then racing away from him on a cross-country track that had been filled with the obstacles of other people and the red shells. It was almost amusing, really, and he knew that Daine and all of his friends would laugh about it later. The only thing that gave Ydris pause was when his red-haired friend had hit Daine and Astor with a wall of water, sending them into the water. And yet, to Ydris' relief, that hadn't triggered a panic attack. At least Daine was finally getting over that. The shell to the chest did make Ydris wince, though.

Removing himself from Daine's thoughts, Ydris rubbed Cloud's nose before he left the stables, smiling at the beloved horse who'd brought them together.

"You are a very good boy, Cloud," Ydris murmured. He pressed a quick kiss to Cloud's muzzle, Cloud giving a nicker.

Ydris returned inside, unsurprised to find Daine asleep. But he still slid the chosen DVD into the player, knowing how to set the TV up now. He'd been quite happy to learn how to use that, and often spent hours watching some quite fascinating shows. Though, Daine had forbidden him from buying any of the wonderful things that were advertised, saying that they were full of shit and they weren't going to be wasting their money on that crap.

After setting things up, Ydris joined Daine on the couch, lifting Daine's legs up so that he could sit with Daine's legs in his lap. It was a normal position for them.

Daine woke up a few minutes into the movie, moving so that his head rested on Ydris' chest. Ydris stroked his fingers gently through Daine's short, curly hair as they watched the movie together. He didn't hide his tears, nor did Daine. Watching classical movies and horse movies together was just one of the things that they did together. Ydris had discovered a fondness for them, probably not least because Daine loved them so much. Perhaps the human world wasn't so bad, perhaps humans weren't so bad at making their own form of entertainment. True, a lot of work went into it, but there was a certain kind of magic in what one could do in cinema.

"Perhaps I should look into creating this form of entertainment," said Ydris as they watched the third movie.

"Well, you're pretty enough," said Daine, ignoring the familiar flash of jealousy that always emerged at the reminder of just how attractive his fiance was.

"As are you," said Ydris. "My magnificent phoenix. We should make movies together." Daine laughed, surprising Ydris. It wasn't a derisive laugh, Daine seemed genuinely amused by what Ydris had just said.

"I'll tell you when you're older," said Daine at Ydris' confused look. But at least he was happy enough to laugh.

"Very well," said Ydris. He settled onto the couch, comfortable with his fiance so close to him, content to spend the entire day, or what was left of it, watching movies with his beloved. Though, as sunset pinkened the sky, he did use his magic to make a reservation at one of the nice Italian restaurants in Jorvik City. He'd been there with Daine before, though Daine had looked uncomfortable the first few times. But this time, Ydris somehow knew that Daine would enjoy going to the restaurant.

After the fourth movie, Ydris switched off the TV and the DVD player after putting the DVD back into its case. Daine raised his head from where he’d been resting it in Ydris’ lap, confused.

"I thought we were watching movies all day," said Daine.

"We must eat, no?" said Ydris. Daine sat up, moving so that Ydris could get off the couch. "If you are amenable to leaving the house and going to Giovanni's?"

"Yeah, I think that'd be okay," said Daine. "I'll just get changed." Though his clothes were dry and mostly clean, he wanted to wear something nicer for his date. Not a suit, though, maybe just a nice t-shirt and a nice pair of jeans. A button up t-shirt was good, so white that Daine worried about spilling something on it. But he also pulled on a leather jacket, one that always made him feel more confident.

"Are you re- oh," said Ydris, his eyes widening at the sight of Daine dressed up nice for their date. He hadn't done much to his hair, only combed it nicely. Ydris, meanwhile, had opted to dress in a nice pair of dress pants (not purple this time, more a navy colour) and a purple vest over a white long-sleeved shirt.

"Sure you don't want a jacket?" Daine asked.

"It cannot be that cold, surely," said Ydris. Daine laughed. His fiance never learned, not that Daine minded. It just meant that Daine could get to witness the wonderful sight of his fiance wearing his jacket.

The two men rode their horses to Fort Pinta, taking the ferry and very much enjoying the sight of the stars glittering on the surface of the water. Daine linked hands with his fiance, resting his head on Ydris' chest as they stood together on the ferry. They sat beside each other on the bus too, and the tram, Daine feeling brave enough to rest his head on Ydris' shoulder.

But sure enough, after finally arriving in Jorvik City near the restaurant, Ydris shivered and rubbed his arms against the cold.

"I told you," said Daine with a chuckle, his breath steaming in the air. He pulled his jacket off, giving it to his fiance who pulled it on gratefully.

"Thank you," said Ydris, giving Daine a grateful smile that made Daine's insides feel all strange. Warm. Fuzzy. "What would I do without you, my phoenix?"

"Freeze to death," said Daine, pressing a brief kiss to his fiance's lips. "Let's go, I'm starving."

But while Ydris started off towards the restaurant down the street that was lit only by streetlamps, Daine snapped a quick photo of him from the back, sending it the the group chat with a smile before sliding his phone back into his pocket and hurrying to catch up with his fiance.

Giovanni's was a wonderful restaurant, one that Daine had felt intimidated by at first. What was someone like him doing in a place like this, he thought. But now, Daine could walk through the front doors with pride, enjoying the wonderful scents of Italian food while still linking hands with his fiance. And Ydris was very pleased to hear Daine laugh at the names that Astor had called him earlier that day. It hadn't been bad, then, after all. Ydris was just worrying too much. Maybe Daine was rubbing off on him. Or maybe that was just what happened when you fell in love. Your partner's wellbeing became of the utmost importance.

The meal was delicious, as it always was here. Ydris raised a glass and toasted to them, to their relationship, to good health and love. Daine blushed as Ydris' speech verged on sappy, but he still drank to it. Even the wine here was good, probably supplied by Silverglade Manor.  
Daine remembered when he was younger, when he'd thought that he'd never be here, in a fancy Italian restaurant, comfortable enough with himself to show his face here. Certainly had never expected to be here with a man who he was going to marry very soon. If he survived this mission to rescue Anne, and he had the strong feeling that he would. That would be his first act, after that- to finally marry this man who made him feel at once extraordinary and normal.

"Daniel?" Ydris asked, brushing a tear from Daine's eye. Daine rubbed his hand across his cheek, brushing away the tears.

"I'm happy," said Daine. "And I don't know how to deal with those positive emotions." Ydris only chuckled and leaned across the table to kiss his fiance.

"I, too, am happy," said Ydris, smiling at him. "I have never known a love or a happiness this great. I love you, my phoenix. My Daniel."

"I love you too," said Daine, blinking away fresh tears. "So much." One more kiss, and then Ydris rose from his seat.

"Let us return home, mon phenix," said Ydris, pulling his jacket back on. He'd left it on the back of his seat, and Daine felt something stir in him at the sight of Ydris in that jacket.

"Or we could stargaze," said Daine on a whim. "Since it's winter and the stars will look clearer. We'd still go back to South Hoof, obviously, but-"

"Say no more," said Ydris, pressing a finger to Daine's lips. Daine smiled, which quickly turned into a grin as their surroundings suddenly changed. He knew that Ydris would be clever enough to leave behind illusions of the two of them leaving the restaurant and returning home normally so as not to arouse suspicion, but now, Daine found himself and Ydris back at the bus stop outside of Fort Pinta.

Wisp and Ydris' bay clydesdale, to their credit, didn't appear unphased by the sudden appearance of the two men. They only took their riders to the ferry and then onto South Hoof, where Daine stabled them before walking with Ydris to a small depression in the ground where they'd be sheltered from the wind (which was still cold, despite snow not gracing Jorvik this year).

"Tell me about the constellations again, my phoenix," said Ydris, resting his head on Daine's shoulder as they lay together looking up at the stars. Daine did so gladly, pointing out the constellations that burned brightly like diamonds against the black velvet of night. The whole time, Ydris watched and listened intently, loving how excited his fiance got over this. The excitement that thrummed through Daine was a far cry from the bedraggled man who'd returned home earlier that day, and for that, Ydris was happy. Daine deserved to be happy.


End file.
